Criticizes J.L. Austin's and J.R. Searle's claims that utterances have illocutionary force and offers an alternative account of the illocutionary aspect of utterances, which sees illocution as the way in which utterances meaningfully relate to the state of affairs in the world. (FL)

Some regularities are noted in the beginnings of texts: anaphora, proper names, and deictics in particular. (FL)

Studies the Yagua speakers' use of a second position morpheme for indicating that information should be integrated as part of the main event line. Concludes that the information attached to this morpheme is mildly or strongly discontinuous with preceding information or expectations. (HB)

Presents an interpretive theory assigning all text to "Linguistic Worlds" (LWs). Shows how a special deictic LW (needed for default attribution to the speaker and useful for describing parentheticals, evaluative adjectives, and epitheticals) gives the capacity to characterize shifts in point of view accompanying the indirect first-person speech of…

Argues that on-line linguistic choices are made in a matrix of continuous discourse connection. Investigates hypotheses concerning communicative dynamism. Identifies gestures as reflective of the status of utterances. Interprets correlations of gestures and linguistic material as reflective of an underlying unity. (HB)

Demonstrates that in spoken discourse many clauses introduced by "subordinating conjunctions" are actually neither structurally nor informationally subordinate. Suggests that the study of linguistic complexity must include spoken as well as written discourse and take account of cultural and situational language contexts. (SR)

Presents a framework for expressing how choices are made in systemic grammars. Framework represents grammar as combination of systemic syntactic description and explicit choice processes called "choice experts." (DF)

Explores four views of the role of interclausal connectives as a set of linguistic devices that help the reader interpret a narrative text. Finds that interclausal connectives carry meaning, connect textual meaning at both local and global levels, and mark discourse continuity and discontinuity both in the text and as inferred by the reader. (SR)

Examines the narrative story structure of a short American Sign Language narrative using stylistic analysis plus the structure of pausing in the narrative. (FL)

Three experiments conducted with normal adults in both Israel and the United States show that the answers people give to questions vary with the category of the target and its distance. (FL)

Outlines some problems that emerged when speech act theory was applied to the analysis of natural discourse, traces these problems to basic flaws or misconceptions in J. R. Searle's theory, and proposes an alternative view of speech acts within the complex organization of discourse processes. (FL)

Presents an experimental approach to the linguistic analysis of discourse organization. (FL)

Critically examines papers by Wellman and Estes, Olson and Torrance, and Hall and Nagy. (AEW)